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Bookshop.org launches new e-book platform for indie bookshops
Bookshop.org has launched a new e-book platform, enabling indie bookshops to access the growing e-book market in the UK. The new platform is available online and through the Bookshop.org apps on Apple and Android. Listeners can access a catalogue of over one million e-books, including works from major publishers.
As with print books, bookshops will earn 100% of the profits from the sales of e-books.
However, customers will not be able to read Digital Rights Management (DRM)-protected titles available via Bookshop.org on Amazon’s Kindle, since Amazon’s proprietary digital rights management software determines which files show up on Kindle devices.
Bookshop.org has ambitions to it to launch its own e-reader, Nicole Vanderbilt, UK managing director at Bookshop.org, told The Bookseller.
The company is also in conversations with Kobo, a collaboration that would enable readers to access DRM-protected titles through its e-readers. Bookshop.org is also also planning to launch audiobooks in 2026.
Booksellers have long requested the ability to sell digital books on the platform. Yet it has taken Bookshop.org years to launch its e-book offering, due to a small engineering team and the "significant work" required to manage DRM, according to Vanderbilt.
"We have bookshops that really can’t wait to talk to their customers about e-books, and it will work just like physical books, so they will be able to use affiliate links to a product page on our site, and they will get the full profit when somebody comes through that," Vanderbilt said.
Offering e-books to customers will enable bookshops to carry longer series, which shelf space shelf space might have previously restricted them from doing. It will also allow booksellers to support debut authors, overcoming the pricing barrier of debut hardback fiction.
Additionally, booksellers who are reluctant to engage with e-books will still be able to access income from the profit pool.
Bookshop.org first launched the e-book platform in the US earlier this year, seeing more than $1m in sales in the first six months. "We are already a year ahead of our original plan, and e-books make up 5% of our overall sales in the US," said Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org. "We are looking forward to e-books expanding to the UK, empowering stores across the pond to be even more competitive."
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The focus, while launching in the UK, will be to ensure that bookshops are supported in helping customers access audiobooks through the platform.
"There’s a level of education and connecting the dots on customer service that I think is really important to us to get right, and we’ve learned a lot from the US about how to do that," Vanderbilt said. "We don’t want bookshops to be in the business of technical support, so we want to make sure that that feels like a smooth and confident thing for a bookseller to be able to pass on to us."
Vanderbilt highlighted that for e-books, publishers determine the selling price and commit to a percentage commission for retailers. "What’s exciting about that is that it will be the same selling price across all retailers," she said, noting that promotions have made "a big difference" in the US.
Bookshop.org’s e-book launch in the UK has been well-received by booksellers. “We are thrilled that the good people of Bookshop.org have crafted a way for our customers to support Mr B’s (and all high-street bookshops) whenever they want to buy a book in digital form," said Nic Bottomley from Mr B’s Emporium in Bath. "Our true love might be print, but e-books are an important part of the lives of so many readers and it’s going to be fantastic to be add into our mix a seamless e-book service, by working in collaboration with Bookshop.org."
CP Hunter of The Folkestone Bookshop added: "As a reader who travels a lot, being able to access e-books from more platforms than just my local library is brilliant, and even more exciting that it’s from the ethical platform that is Bookshop.org. As a bookseller, making books even more accessible while still supporting independent shops is nothing but great news."
